Nicole
by Lilly Fairy
Summary: CH 5 UP!!! Nicole Sullivan has lost everything until one day...
1. All is lost or is it ?

DISCLAIMER: I, myself, do not own any part of Newsies. I would GREATLY appreciate if you read my story and all the chapters it contains, but please if you are going to use any part of this story, e-mail me first at tealgrl@yahoo.com. Thanks lots ~Lilly.  
  
PLEASE READ AND REVIEW! *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Prologue ##########  
  
I could never have guessed that I had an older brother, especially one who was on his own. He was my idol and I'd only known about him for three days. Sitting on the train to Manhattan, staring at the newspaper cut out of Francis Sullivan, known in Manhattan as Jack Kelley, I couldn't have been any happier. I think that day was the happiest I had been in months.  
  
The nuns at the orphanage, who found me lying across my mother's newly dug grave and taken me in, new only that my name was Nicole Sullivan and my mother had been killed trying to save my father from certain death in jail. They had to, quite literally, peel me away from my mother's grave to take me with them.  
  
Father O'Malley had been reading the Sunday edition of the Maine Gazette when he came upon a story about the Manhattan newsies (news boys in other words). The boys in question had begun a strike throughout all laboring children of New York. I was shown this particular article before mass that evening, and the picture of Jack that accompanied the column. I was so stunned that I graciously took the picture and article to my room and thanked God that I had hope of finding the only family I had left.  
  
Early the following morning I awoke to the sounds of the few things I owned being packed. Sister Marta and Sister Francis (as the children called her Sister Fat-Fanny) were hurriedly packing away my dresses and shoes and the small jewelry my mother had left me.  
  
"Ere child. You must take dis money and find you brothah in Man Attan." She stated very bluntly, handing me the carpetbag with my things packed in it. Marta kissed my forehead and as she left whispered " May God bless you and keep you safe."  
  
After an hour nap, very brute-like shouting had awakened me. I was told that Brooklyn was the next stop and we would be to Manhattan in twenty minutes. I pulled out my picture of Jack and stared at it, as if to burn his image into my memory so it would never be forgotten.  
  
************That's all for now. PLEASE REVIEW and I shall use your comments to help form my next chapter.  
  
~Lilly 


	2. The headache

Thanks TONS to those who reviewed. I'm so glad that people actually like my writing ( @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@  
  
Stepping off the train into the blinding sun, Nicole thought to herself that she needed to find this Jack Kelley and see where he stayed. As she walked towards the rear of the train, Nicole devised a plan to start in the town square, if there was one in Manhattan, and work her way around the city from there.  
  
Making sure to keep a tight grip on her carpetbag, she walked out of the station and asked a passerby where she could find the square.  
  
"Walk down this street here and turn to your left, just look for those street rat newsies, you couldn't miss their fowl language if you wanted to." She stated, very snobbishly.  
  
"I don't mean to be rude Madame, but my brother just so happens to be one of those 'street rat newsies,'" Nicole said matter-of-factly. With that the woman gave her a second look and walked off in a huff.  
  
Following the woman's directions, Nicole came upon a cart with three nuns standing atop handing out bread and something in tin cups. She followed the cobblestone street toward the cart trying to remain unseen. As she approached the cart she heard a boy with a very heavy "New Yawk" accent telling another, taller boy with sandy blonde hair, about a "hot tip." She assumed the smaller black haired boy meant a gambling tip. Nicole could feel the tension rising in the pit of her empty stomach. As she crept around the side, she didn't see the pile of used tin cups and tipped it over with her foot. With a loud startling crash, the cups fell, scaring most of the boys. She searched for a place to hide, finding none she slid around back hoping no one would look for her there.  
  
"Race, go see what da hell dat was," the blonde haired boy said. With a brief moment of silence, he said, "Go on Race, it's prolly just a dirty DE- LANCY," with a very sing-song voice.  
  
"U'se go see Jack. I-I needs ta get me papes a-and check da racin fawm. Not that I'se wouldn't love to soak one of those doity, rotten scabbas. You'se go ahead Jack, I'se need to chawm Weasle inta fifty papes," the boy, that Jack had called Race, said stammering. And then it hit her, it WAS JACK! 'Boy this was easy,' she thought to herself.  
  
"OK Race, you'se big fat chicken, I'se gonna go see what dat was. You'se all go scamper off and gets ya papes," Jack said with a note of selfconciousness. Jack slowly walked to the side of the cart, he flung his head are swiftly, and to his surprise nothing was there. He slid around the side, aiming to look in back. He again spun his head around the corner swiftly, only to bump foreheads with, what he thought was a mirror. Jack closed his eyes, rubbed his forehead. When he opened his eyes, whatever he hit was gone. @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@  
  
ok guys.REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!! Much thanks 


	3. The Begining

Thanks bunches and bundles to those who reviewed. I'm SO SORRY it took this long for me to post chapter two and three. The site ate my work and I was forced to re-submit the whole story. %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%  
  
Out of breath, Nicole wrapped her shaking hands around a lamppost to catch her breath. "I cannot.believe this! Ten.minutes I've been off.the train and I've already.found him!" she said, gasping for air. Nicole needed to find a place to hide because the boys were headed her way. She assumed they would be retrieving their papers, or "papes" as the boy Jack called Racetrack had titled them.  
  
Searching and panicking, Nicole was desperate for anywhere to hide. When she saw nothing but vender's carts, she stood up straight and strode in the opposite direction of the greasy boys and their suspenders. As Nicole walked by, she heard about three boys whistle, most took off their hats, Jack stopped dead in his tracks. While he stopped, a boy with brown curly hair trailed by a small boy, walked right into him.  
  
"Gees-us JACK," he said, picking himself up, "you look like you'se just seen a ghost."  
  
"Yea Davey, I think I'se just done seen a ghost." Jack said coolly, running his fingers through his greasy hair. "It's dis goil.Davey, I'se swea' she coulda.ah neva mind I'se just seein tings." Jack, Davey and the little boy walked in the direction of the other boys, talking about their papes and such.  
  
"Phew that was close, a little too close. I wonder what happened to that little Italian boy, I didn't see him in that pack of dirty boys," Nicole whispered to herself. Walking with a quickening pace, she wasn't exactly paying attention to the cobblestone beneath her feet, she stumbled over something on the curb and landed face first in the street.  
  
"HEY! Watch where you'se is-OH DEA' ME! I'se sorry lady. I'se thought you'se was one'na da boys," Racetrack said quite apologetically, removing his cabby hat from his head. As he helped her up and handed Nicole her carpetbag, he noticed the uncanny resemblance to a certain friend Nicole possessed. "Miss, you'se wouldn't happen ta have a brodda or cousin in New Yawk, would ya's?" he questioned.  
  
"No. No, why do you ask?" Nicole said stammering. Upon the ladder statement, she turned around just in time to hear Jack say something about a weasel. "I'm sorry, I must be going." She snatched her carpetbag from Race and with a muffled thank you she walked off quickly.  
  
"Race, where you'se been? You'se shoulda seen Weasel (peals of laughter from the newsie bunch). Dutchy just-so-happened to be palming a tomato, and when Morris tried ta cheat Crutchy outa two o'his papes (more laughter) Dutchy lobbed it at his fat head! Weasel had a shit-fit!" Jack re-capped the last two minutes, breaking out into laughter and holding on to Race for support.  
  
"Racetrack, whassamadda? Now you'se look like you'se seen Jack's ghost," Davey stated with the largest ear-to-ear grin.  
  
"No ghost Dave muh-man.just a goil. Da most beautiful goil in New Yawk.but." he trailed off turning his glassy eyes to Jack.  
  
"She looked like me right?" asked Jack. The newsies held their breath for the rest of the conversation. Then tension was so thick, only the Delancy's stench could cut through it.  
  
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Ok I know that was kinda a slow one but I SWEAR the next chapter is better! Don't run away please! 


	4. Run ins

Thanks bunches to those who reviewed. I feel special, your reviews help me to keep writing despite the limited time I have to work on my stories.  
  
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As soon as Nicole picked herself up and dusted herself off, Racetrack, while shielding his eyes, noticed familiarities about this certain clumsy female. Race stood, took off his hat and apologized again for snapping at her. For some reason he could not take his eyes off of her.  
  
"Excuse me miss, I'se don't mean no hawm. I'se sorry for starin', but u'se look...kinda familiar...Have we met?" Racetrack stammered.  
  
Nicole could do nothing but gasp, blush and run. Racetrack called after her telling her he didn't mean to offend her. She knew he hadn't, but what could she say?  
  
With her heart all a flutter, Nicole ran as fast as she could, not paying attention to the places she had been passing and the direction she was going. She ended up in the center of the square by a statue of some bald man she had never seen in her short life. Sitting at the base of the statue to catch her breath, she heard shouts of young boys floating through the air.  
  
"Uh-Oh. I'm back where I started. What do I do, what do I do?" Nicole said to herself. She couldn't help but be scared of them finding her before she found Jack. She decided to stay where she was until the boys went away. I'll just stay here and eventually they will go in the opposite direction, she thought to her self.  
  
She was dead wrong. 


	5. Changes

Sorry that it's taken this long to get up chapter five. For all of you who said that they wanted a longer chapter, U GOT IT!  
  
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With her feet cemented to the place where she stood, Nicole had no ideas how to get out of this one. 'What the hell do I do now?' she thought, mind racing. 'What if Jack sees me and can't recognize me? THAT'S IT! The little Italian boy recognized something about me so why won't Jack? Bad idea, bad idea.'  
  
Looking around and thinking at the same time, was not Nicole's specialty. Her eyes scanned the scene a few times, sweeping over a sign that read Mickey's one dollar cut and shave. She looked around one more time, more frantically and discovered the sign. Without hesitation she tore off for the barbershop, dove into a chair and recovered the dollar seventy-five she had jingling in her pocket.  
  
" I need a cut sir, if it's no problem"  
  
"Well to be honest, little lady, I've never cut a girl's hair before. I can try my best though."  
  
"Your best will be good enough." Nicole reached back and spread her long brown hair over the back of the chair and told him to cut it up to her chin. After all was said and done, Nicole paid the man and walked out. When she got outside she realized that she was still in her school uniform.  
  
"Oh wonderful what now?" She ran down the nearest alleyway and sprinted to the very end, just as a few newsboys mounted lampposts and called out today's headlines. Nicole quickly smeared a bit of dirt on her face, hid her cardigan and savagely ripped her blouse. Nicole wasn't sure what to do.so she tied her hair up with s piece of her newly torn blouse and walked back out onto the street.  
  
* * * *  
  
"Jack! Jack! JACK!" screamed racetrack, hopelessly out of breath.  
  
"What Race? WHAT?"  
  
"Jack it was like lookin' in a mirror. She had you'se eyes and damn dem cheekbones..."  
  
"What are u going on about Race?"  
  
" I seen dis goil.not too much younger den you...and she looked... LIKE YOU!!!!!"  
  
* * * *  
  
Walking back out into the hazy sunlight Nicole could hardly believe that she had just ripped her school uniform...what would the sisters say? While she was on the subject of sisters Nicole decided that she needed a place to hide before she was spotted again by that amazingly handsome Italian boy.  
  
On her way around the city, Nicole was beginning to get stares from every direction and things whispered behind hands as she passed. 'This must be what the runaways and boys like my brother must feel like and have to see every day,' she thought to herself. She saw a nice quaint little place by the name of Tibby's and decided that she could ask inside where the nearest lodging could be.  
  
As she pushed open the door and heard the little bell ringing, Nicole was completely oblivious to the fact that she had walked right into the newsboy's favorite hangout. She walked straight up the counter and began to ask her questions...  
  
* * * *  
  
Walking into Tibby's and sitting into their normal corner booth, Jack, Race, Davey and Dutchy sank into the overstuffed booth bench.  
  
"I still don't get it Race. I'se never had a goil in my family. I'm telling ya guys she ain't my sista. Now let it go and Davey will u go get da sodas please?" Jack said exasperated.  
  
" I'se telling ya Jack I saw what I saw. And when I'se says to hea dat she looked kinda familia to me..she run off with this look on her face like she didn't know what to do."  
  
"Well I'm telling ya Race, Jack said he ain't got no sista so he ain't got no sista, it could be a goil that just kinda looks like him. I seen a kid one day dat looked like me but he wasn't no brodda a mine." Said Dutchy, elbowing Race in the ribs playfully.  
  
Just as Davey was coming back with the sodas a girl was walking out with directions written on a piece of paper.  
  
* * * *  
  
'Ok. The guy at the counter said to follow these directions to a lodging house...That'd be the only place with an opening this time of the week. But I don't think I have enough money to pay them lodging...' Nicole thought to herself, following the directions written on the napkin.  
  
She followed the last bit of directions and when she came to a halt and looked up she realized that she was in front of a building that said Newsboys Lodging house. 'Well gees! If I'da known this is where he was sendin me I would have gone to the next town over...well let's see what the guy inside says...ask for Kloppman,' she thought reading from the napkin. "Well lets see what I can get," she said stepping over the rotting threshold.  
  
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and there u have it.after a very long, gruesome waiting period.Nicole five..shout outs next chapter so R&R 


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